Without a doubt, 2013 was a difficult year for the Philippines, particularly in the last quarter when two natural calamities ravaged the Visayas region.
A 7.2 earthquake shook central Visayas on October 15, 2013, and less than a month after, on November 8, 2013, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in world history—Haiyan / Yolanda—devastated eastern Visayas.
Add to these the man-made disasters, such as the pork-barrel scam amounting to billions, and we really had one pretty bad year.
Thankfully, despair and tragedy were not all that we have had our fill of.
We did record a number of triumphs that resonated in different parts of the globe and brought pride to the country.
International triumphs in sports, beauty pageants, and show business certainly made 2013 a bit more bearable.
